Authenticity seems more a matter of ranges and limitations than of outright prescriptions.
- Jeffrey Steingarten, The Man Who Ate Everything

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Miss Clarity Cafe, Purvis Street

've been past this place on numerous occasions at Purvis Street, but have never been able to bring myself to walk in. Did stop once to look at their menu, but there wasn't any compelling force to step into the place. Well, now that I've finally done so, I must say that they do make a pretty decent risotto and bread pudding which I think I might come back again for. The interior of Miss Clarity Cafe is flushed with bright and cheerful hues of pinks and oranges and yellows and other shiny happy colors. It gives me the impression that everything is plastic...lol.

Red wine risotto with pan seared scallop

This almost looks like it came from across the road at Garibaldi. Almost there. Maybe it's setup of this place and perhaps the prices as well. I didn't really expect the dish to come up looking and tasting like this. And it brings me hope that there are actually places that has nice western chow with credible presentation apart from BasilAlcove. The red wine risotto with pan seared scallop was pretty damn tasty that it's something I would come back to this place for again. The risotto comes with a pronounced creamy red wine flavor is laced with some spicy oil like which I couldn't identify. For all the looks like porridge, it certainly tastes good.

Risotto Venere with steamed seabass and vegetable cream

The Risotto Venere with steamed seabass and vegetable cream trails a distant second in comparison with the previous risotto. This one is made of the same grains as bubor hitam, so I was half expecting it to come sweet. It's wasn't. It tasted flat creamy. There doesn't seem to be any identifying flavor to it and I'm a little put off by the fact that the seabass comes with scales and bones. The fish was also boring.

This has got to be another hit. I don't normally eat bread pudding. In fact I dislike them because they often cold, too soggy or too sweet. This one comes hot, firm and not overly sweetened. It's really good, but while it's still hot.